Serendipity
by Becca the Evil
Summary: Four teens find themselved violently thrown into the world of Harry Potter
1. Prologue

****

Title: Serendipity: The Prologue

****

Author: Becca the Evil

****

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the stuff I own. ^_^

****

Author Note: Welcome to Becca-trying-humor day! Warning, this is heavily demented, crude and has a lot of cursing. I will eventually make this completely Harry Potter, but my plan is very bizarre, mysterious, and ::gasp:: secret! MUWAHAHA! Now onto the fic…if you aren't scared already.

The clock was ticking incessantly, while Nicole Rivers was trying to block out the drone of her Science class. It was the last class of a humid day, and she was aching to get into a properly air-conditioned room. Nicole would normally be taking pages of notes for fear of loosing her GPA, which was abnormally high for a student at Burak High School in Florida. She brushed a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear, and sighed loudly. Her teacher, Mr. Marks, was talking so tediously that Nicole could have sworn that all of the separate words his mouth was forming made up one continuous blah. At the beginning of class she could recognize the start of a lecture on the mating habits of pygmy ants, but now she was certain she was stuck in a bad Charlie Brown episode. 

"Wallasham bleehaw, floobing shnelum," said Mr. Marks.

Nicole gazed around the class, lazily, her head lolling to one side. About half of the class was catching up on sleep, and nobody really seemed to care about what was happening. Most of the class was in the same sort of bizarre trance, staring wide-eyed at nothing or sleeping soundly.

Next to her, her best friend Kevin Alvarez had just fallen on top of his bookbag and was in a complete state of narcolepsy. He was absently chewing on the zipper fastenings of his makeshift pillow. His brown hair was rumpled, covering his sleepy blue eyes. Beside Kevin, Sean Steinberg was snoring loudly next to a puddle of drool. The tips of his spiked red hair were being dipped every so often into his non-hygienic puddle by the movement of his blaring snores. 

In the back of the room, Brooke Moorison was counting the holes in the ceiling tiles, and Jessica Clark was trying to make her tube of strawberry lipgloss stand up straight. They were known as the ditzy duo, and were the epitome of blonde cheerleaders. Three people Nicole didn't know were listening to loud music in an effort to stay awake, and Thomas Avery was looking like he always did, dazed and stupid. Thomas was Nicole's arch-nemesis, and Nicole didn't want to reminisce about all of the crap she'd gotten from him about her grades. It was mostly due to him that she was now a very good slapper and could have a very sharp tongue. Thomas was a world class jerk and a half, and it made Nicole sick to look at him too long.

Instead, she looked over to her left. Even the enthusiastic Science admirer, Stephanie Jones, was sagging lifelessly. All of a sudden, Stephanie pulled her head off the desk looking shocked at her lack of discipline, and then gave into the sandman for the second time in history. 

Nicole felt her own eyelids droop, and she made a headrest out of Kevin's shoulder. Just as she was drifting off, the bell rang in her ear and Kevin bolted upright, knocking her over.

"Goodbye class," said Mr. Marks, his normal speech returning. "Be sure to pick up a study sheet, we will be having an exam next class." He walked briskly off.

"Unnnngh," grumbled Sean, and he accidentally rolled into his puddle of slobber.

"Eeeeeeeeeew!" screeched Jessica, "That's like, so not sanitary." She picked up 

her lipgloss and walked out of class, Brooke trailing after her.

Sean glared after her. "Eeeeeew! Like, totally!" he said, mocking Jessica's hip motions. "What a slut."

"Hey, she has a nice ass." Kevin added, walking over to Sean. Nicole packed up her bag.

"The first Continental Congress was held in 1781!" shrieked Stephanie, waking up and realizing she had been dozing off, to her embarrassment.

"Wrong subject, Steph," laughed Nicole, as she walked over to Sean and Kevin.

"Hey! Any of you guys want to give me a drive home? Driver's Ed is the most evil class invented. It's not like I don't know how to parallel park, it's just that my instructor was stupid! He spilled his soda on me, for crying out loud! Like I'm not going to run into something..." Nicole broke off mumbling.

"Not the fountain in front of the mall, Nicole." Sean smirked.

"I can give you both a ride over to Starbucks, but you have to walk the rest. I'm trying to get a job," commented Kevin.

"Again?" asked Nicole. "Hello, that's your fourth time there. Addicted to coffee, are we? You can't keep on giving out free samples to any girl who looks at you, don't you realize that? Duh squared. You'll inevitably get fired."

"There's lots you don't realize, Ms. High and Mighty." Kevin retaliated.

"Like what? Enlighten me." Nicole sent him a challenging gaze.

"I had this really freaky dream last night. It was something about cross-dimensional travel. Have you read A Wrinkle in Time?" said Kevin.

Nicole nodded. Sean cocked his head sideways and looked suspicious.

"The Chronicles of Narnia?" Nicole nodded again.

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" Another nod. Kevin continued.

"I bet you anything in the world that you don't realize the secret that's talked about in these books. You will never understand how to get to a different dimension. The day you show me that you can defy physics and go across a time/space barrier, I will do anything you want. Including shaving my head, coming to school naked, and doing the Macarena on the roof."

Nicole blinked. "Hey Dr. Spock, been watching too much television? Err, no actually I bet you were hanging out with Michelle's older brother's friends. Star Wars weirdoes…the one guy with the beard and cape really scares me. But why not, it's a bet."

Nicole and Kevin shook hands.

All of a sudden, the back door of the classroom flung open, and a girl clad in jeans, a purple camisole, and matching sunglasses ran in. She tripped over her five-inch platforms, and did a nose-dive. Nicole, Sean, and Kevin seemed unfazed, as this was a daily ritual. Michelle was clumsy, impulsive, had a sunglass fetish, but was still hilarious, fun to be around, and very good friends with Nicole, Kevin, and Sean.

"Hey Michelle!" called Nicole. "Come on over, Kevin's giving out free rides to anyone who wants to go to Starbucks!" Kevin rolled his eyes. 

"Hi guys! Cool, count me in. You are sooo lucky that you don't have to take a class with the Evil Spanish Teacher From Hell. I'd sit through Science any day. So what's kicking?" Michelle said this all very fast.

"What happened? I missed something." Sean stated, a look of confusion on his face, as he looked from Nicole to Kevin and Michelle.

"Here's the instant replay. First, I told Kev he couldn't possibly work at Starbucks again because he'll get fired. He said I didn't know everything, and dared me to find out the secret behind inter-galactic travel. Michelle walked in, and she's driving with us to go watch Kev get his butt kicked out of the aforementioned coffee shop," Nicole explained.

"Oooooooh!" exclaimed Sean. Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Sean, you need to stop smoking. That kills brain cells, and you need all of them you can get. I can just imagine you on crack, you'd be like, 'Dude, I need a joint. I haven't smoked for two hours and my brain functions are coming back'." Michelle started giggling, totally ruining the harsh message of her statement. 

Sean shrugged his shoulders, and Nicole giggled along with Michelle.

"Let's go, I'll be late." Kevin sighed, and started walking to his car. Michelle, Sean and Nicole following him. 

A few moments later, they were standing in the middle of the school parking lot.

"Woah! That's a car?" laughed Sean. "It looks like it came from the bottom of the ocean along with Titanic."

"At least I have a car," mumbled Kevin, kicking his rusting truck, while Sean threw his books in the back. Michelle hopped into the front, and turned on the stereo. The speakers belted out "I did it!" by the Dave Matthews Band, and Michelle bobbed her head to the beat. 

"Oh cool! I found a root beer!" Sean reached in and pulled an aluminum can out of the window.

"Shit!" screeched Nicole, as her bag split in two. She bent to pick her books up, and Sean starting laughing.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, eh? Looks like you ate it. Isn't that a kid's book?" he snorted.

Nicole was infuriated.

"Harry Potter is the best book in print and my favorite in the world, so shut up! It's a classic good against evil tale that's infused with humor and life messages. It's about a really cute little boy who almost defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort when he was a baby. Voldemort tried to kill the baby with a Killing Curse, or Avada Kedavra, but it deflected, almost killing the evil guy. This Voldemort dude is like, undead and just won't kick the bucket already. Then, every year at wizard school, Voldemort or one of his minions tries to murder Harry again. It's so amazingly well written too. The world described seems so…real. So don't diss my book, you evil…" Nicole hit Sean with one of his most notable vocabulary words. "I've worn my book out by reading it. That's what books are for, to extend knowledge. You read with your head, and think. You do know what thinking is…it's the primary function of the brain…"

"Smartass." Sean mumbled.

"Dumbass," retaliated Nicole, smiling, and she made a grab for Sean's root beer can. She snatched it, and poured the contents down the front of his shirt. "Don't diss my book. Or you will pay."

"Why am I friends with such a bitch?" grumbled Sean, looking down at his soaking shirt.

"You know you love me," Nicole crooned in her baby voice, as she pulled on Sean's hair.

"Hey. Do you want a ride or not?" Kevin screamed, getting annoyed.

*******

Off far, far away in another dimension of space and time, Harry Potter was walking towards another very strange Care of Magical Creatures Class.

He joined Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley at a table in the front of the classroom, and waited for the new substitute teacher to arrive.

See, Hagrid was still gone sending messages of friendship to giants, and Dumbledore had decided to send in a temporary teacher. 

What Dumbledore didn't think about was how terrible most fifteen year olds are to subs, even if they're wizards and witches. 

So far, Care of Magical Creatures had gone through seven temporary teachers. The first one ran off on the first day of term, after most of the students had decided to change their names around in strange ways. Even Hermione had joined in on the fun, after giving up on trying to lecture the class on proper behavior. Harry's new name was, "Green Midget", and Ron was "Fuzzy Candlewax" and Hermione was "Swotty Tissue". Most of the other teachers lasted for a while, but the fifth years had just thrown the last one off by dropping their quills simultaneously every five minutes. After three classes of that, Prof. Wiread had given up, and today the next sub was brought in.

A stocky woman walked into the classroom, and dropped a big container on her new desk. Her matted mop of red hair sat strangely on her head, and four of her chins wobbled as she turned around.

"She's dead," whispered Ron, winking at Dean and Seamus at the adjacent table.

The woman banged a ruler on her desk, and called for attention very forcefully. She continued to smash various things until the whole class was looking straight at her. Ron seemed to change his mind, as he sat up straight in his chair and looked terrified 

"My name is Prof. Gomez, and I am your latest teacher. Your antics will not be tolerated today, as we are going straight into a new area of magical creatures." She held up a tube of bubbling green liquid. "Who can tell me what this is?"

Hermione's hand shot up.

"That's poison, from a fr…" she was cut off by Prof. Gomez tapping a ruler on her desk again.

"Good. That's enough. Now what is this?" Prof. Gomez opened up the big container on her desk. She held up a…

"Tree frog. It's a tree frog, professor!" Hermione looked pleased at herself. "But it's not magical, is it? I know that they're found in rainforests, like in South America."

Prof. Gomez glared at Hermione. She obviously had wanted another person to answer the question, and was looking really peeved. Harry shrunk into his seat. Prof. Gomez had gruesome yellow teeth that scared him, and when she glared they slipped out of her bulging purple-coated lips.

"Yes, they are magical. Their poison proves to be a very potent hallucinogen." Prof. Gomez scowled at the people who started snickering. "Today you all will be extracting the poison from your very own tree frogs, and drinking exactly one drop. I hope this teaches you all that drugs are terrible and NEVER to try any frog-licking in the future. And, it must be one drop, or else the poison will affect you for more than the planned five minutes, and you will be seeing giraffes floating in the air for weeks. Get it?"

The class certainly got it, and if they didn't get it, they hid their confusion. Prof. Gomez was scary, and she would take a while to crack. 

To take the poison out of a tree frog, you had to tickle it until it started to squirm. Then, the green liquid would shoot out, and you had to catch it. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all working with one particularly cynical frog. It didn't seem ticklish in the slightest, so the three of them took a long time touching the frog trying to find a ticklish spot.

"I feel like a rapist," Ron cringed.

"Uh, well, technically you're committing bestiality. Not exactly rape." Harry explained. "What?" he added, and Ron and Hermione's shocked expressions.

Ron stared at Harry, mouth open. "Eeew," he muttered.

"God, perverted, are we?" Hermione interjected, cringing.

Ron stared some more, and backed away from the frog. It had started to giggle.

"Ron, do you ever blink?" said Harry, trying desperately to change the subject.

Ron blinked, to oblige Harry and then turned his gaze onto the frog. It continued laughing, and Hermione caught a shot of green liquid in a bottle.

"Ick, now we have to drink this stuff." Hermione held the bottle up. She took a dropper, and filled it with frog poison. "Who's first?"

"Harry!" shouted Ron.

"Ron!" shouted Harry.

"You are such babies. I'll go first." Hermione placed the dropper on her tongue, and drank a drop. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and when they came back around, she was rambling.

"The Elephants! Get a shotgun!" She wobbled over to Harry, and said "Hello Mr. Potato. You are one ugly teddy bear." Then, she walked clumsily over to Ron. "You bad, bad, smoocher of styrofoam. The giraffes know better."

Ron let out a string of inappropriate words, complementing the poison and affirming the incredibility of Hermione being so…absurd. He then sat back and watched her make a fool of herself, very amused.

After watching Hermione stop wandering around the room while giving balderdash advice to everyone in the room, Ron took a sip of the poison.

"Fiji Merrrrmaiddd! Lizard GooFlaaaaaa!" Ron collapsed into loud, obnoxious giggles, and turned many shades of blue from lack of breathing. 

"Ron, you idiot, breathe!" Hermione shouted.

"Aquamarine jellyfiiiiiiiish!" Ron fell down again, clutching his stomach.

Five minutes passed, and Ron returned to normal. It was Harry's turn. He took a drop of the poison…

"IT'S VOLDEMORT!" Harry screamed. The whole class turned to look at him, eyes wide. "AND HE'S WEARING A PINK NIGHTGOWN!" Harry screamed, and tried to run away from the empty space that was Voldie. "NOOOOOO! I DO NOT EAT RABBITS!" shouted Harry.

After five minutes, Harry's poison wore off as well. He, Ron, and Hermione looked around the room to see how the potion had affected other people. 

Crabbe and Goyle were playing patty-cake, their faces contorted like identical five-year old girls. Lavender and Parvati were doing cartwheels in the middle of the room. Seamus was spilling his deepest, darkest secrets, including his unrequited love for Neville Longbottom. Dean was taking notes. And Draco Malfoy was…

"He's…singing? Oh God, it that, Diana Ross?" Hermione winced as he hit a high note. "Make him stop, Harry!"

"Heh, no way Hermione. This is the second best moment of our lives, now it's Malfoy the Singing, Bouncing, Moronic Ferret." Harry laughed.

Ron stared at Malfoy, and then starting laughing hysterically along with Harry. He fell off his chair, chuckling.

"Ron…you didn't take any more of that poison, did you?" said Hermione, very slowly.

Ron stopped laughing. "Are you insane? That stuff tastes gross! It's like a mixture of cat piss and tanning oil."

"I WIIIILL SURVVVIIIIIIIIIVE!" sang Draco, hopping onto his table.

"Hasn't it already been five minutes," asked Hermione, looking terrified.

"Uh, yea," began Harry, "Looks like he took more than a drop." 

Ron grinned maliciously, and Harry started laughing again. Hermione continued to look scared to death, as Draco moonwalked off of his table and fell.

"Class dismissed!" screamed Prof. Gomez, "And YOU, singer boy, you are in SO much trouble! Conduct cut!" She grabbed Draco by the ear, and pulled him out of the room.

*******

****

End Note: This'll make waay more sense once I finish the next chapter, in a week or so. Reviews are appreciated! Please? ^_^ Don't worry, I don't bite. Hard.


	2. The Beginning of the End

Title: Serendipity: The Beginning  ****

Title: Serendipity: The Beginning 

****

Author: Becca the Evil

****

Disclaimer: _Dis bad grammar_

You know too…

Me no own stuff,

You no sue 

Ah, the wonders of bad poetry. Such life, such meaning…such crap. But, 'tis true. Don't sue me please. I only have about $3.23 and pocket lint. 

****

Summary: The second part of my demented story. Big thank you to Kaccee, who's my faithful beta. ^_~ 

Okay, so this story doesn't make sense yet. It will next chapter. Or the one after. I promise it will make sense eventually. I'm serious, it willll! Oh yea, the warning. This is really demented, so be careful! 

It was raining.

Well, raining is an enormous understatement. It was as if the sky had opened up and decided that Florida should be so soaked that it returned to the bottom of the ocean.

Rapidly.

Rain is a very natural and regular occurrence in Florida. In fact, almost everyday at around 1pm, it pours. Nature just doesn't know if it wants to drown Florida henceforth…or not. Around 3 hours later, bada bing, bada boom, it's stopped raining and the ground stands completely dry. The itsy-bitsy spider can climb up the spout again, and the birds are chirping.

But for now, it was pouring.

Sheets of water were coming down in massive torrents, and any person outside for more than a few moments would be soaked to their skin. Each drop of water was the size of a quarter, and just as heavy. The sky was a dark charcoal color, reminiscent of either smoke or very old bath water.

Nicole, Kevin, Sean, and Michelle were driving in the storm.

"What the HELL was that?" shrieked Michelle, as a raindrop slid through the roof of Kevin's truck and landed on her nose. "Your car is leaking, Kev."

"No shit, Sherlock," whined Sean, "This thing is older than we are."

"Yea, it's a what? A '73 Chevy?" Nicole added.

"I wouldn't be talking, " grumbled Kevin, "I'm the only one of you guys that has a car. So shut up and let me drive." A lightning bolt crackled across the sky. 

"Yea, yea, yea. Go ahead and brag about bribing the Driver's Ed teacher," groaned Nicole, "The is no way that the turn you just pulled was legal."

"Dude, it's not our fault that you're Mrs. Felicie's star student. It's not like she plays favorites 'coz she's a sport's coach too, but still, there is no way that you drive any better than us. What the hell did you do to her…" Michelle complained, poking Kevin. Another raindrop plopped on her nose.

Sean grimaced. "That lady is scary, man. She has hair that floats above her head, and her sweater smells like snot and mothballs. Wonder why…"

"Shut up!" Kevin yelled. "It's not easy driving with the Junior Complaining Brigade in my backseat!" He punched the side of the car in frustration, and pending drops of water fell off of the window.

All of a sudden, there was a deep rumbling noise. The roof of Kevin's Chevy started to twitch. Drop after drop of rained pounded down on the rusted cover. One final bead of water fell, and as if in slow motion, it landed on the roof…which caved in.

"Shit!" was the collective cry.

Nicole, Kevin, Sean, and Michelle were showered in bits of rusted metal. A huge chunk landed on Michelle's head, and she felt dizzy. Nicole was covered in dust, and some of it got in her round, brown eyes. She rubbed her eyes, and the dust moved and scraped her retina. It stung terribly, and she winced. A lump of metal landed on Sean's cheek, and he was busy picking it out. Kevin had a piece of his car drop on an inappropriate place and was writhing.

"Crap!" Kevin yelled, along with a bunch of words that had resurfaced from his male DNA strand. He screamed in not only anguish, anger, and frustration for the loss of his one true love, his trusty truck, but for the new possibility of not being to attract any other, more human lovers he might have in the future.

"Gosh, Kevin, are you okay? Alive?" Nicole asked, torn between concern and gagging at the definitely negatively masculine things that Kevin was screaming. "Told you the car wasn't safe."

"DRIVE you moron!" screamed Sean, dusting car remains out of his hair. "That is NOT the road!

Kevin was knocked back into reality. In an act of, well, not total bravery. In fact, more in of an act of near stupidity, he grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it in a randomly westward direction.

Westward happened to be the way to get to Starbucks. Scratch that, the way to run into Starbucks.

There was an earsplitting crash, and what remained of Kevin's Chevy went flying. Muttering curses, prayers, and phrases of disbelivement, a very dishelved Nicole, Sean, Michelle, and Kevin stepped out of the car.

The customers' eyes popped, and one woman choked on a piece of biscotti. Several people stood up and ran outside of the store, looking fearful.

They has managed to somewhat safely land…

"Through the Starbucks WINDOW? Through the WINDOW?" screeched Michelle, irritably. 

"Smooth Kev, real smooth," complained Nicole. "Nice first impression. Really going to get that job now."

"Shut UP you guys," Kevin groaned. "Here comes the manager…"

******

Hermione Granger was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, finishing her Arithmancy homework. As usual.

All of the more…normal…students were celebrating the new Quidditch victory. Gryffindor had beaten Slytherin by a very close ten points, and as an added bonus, Draco Malfoy had broken his leg.

Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were dancing around in circles, playing imaginary air guitars, like most fifteen-year-old guys. Fred and George were telling jokes to the Gryffindor chasers, who were choking with laughter. Ron wandered over to Hermione, whose face was contorted in concentration.

"Hey, Her-my-oh-kneeeeeee!" yelled Ron, over the sound of Fred and George's new wizard invention, Banshee Burgers. "Come and have something to eat."

Hermione looked up at Ron, and sighed. Then she continued with her Arithmancy.

"Come on!" whined Ron. "Want a Chocolate frog? Some Sherbet Lemons? Licorice?" He waved candy in front of Hermione's face. She didn't move. 

Ron accidentally dropped a piece on chocolate on her homework. It splattered everywhere. Ron hasn't the faintest clue.

"RON!" screamed Hermione.

Ron slowly turned around and plopped next to a steaming Hermione on the sofa. Her face was contorted in rage, but as usual, Ron was oblivious.

"Yes?" he asked.

Hermione scooted closer to him, and cupped her hands around his ear.

"Shut up and go away! I'm doing work, you UNOBSERVANT LITTLE HALF-WITTED GIT!" she screamed in his ear.

The noise of celebration conveniently placed in the background stopped. Fred dropped something, and Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing. Everybody's heads turned in their direction. Ron squeaked.

"I think I'm deaf. Help."

A seemingly brave second year in the back of the room spoke up. He yelled something over to Hermione, from a safe distance, surrounded by giggling friends. This was a very stupid thing to do.

"Gosh, need Midol much?"

Hermione turned around and faced the boy, seething.

"See THIS?" she held up her stained homework. "THIS took he THREE HOURS! Of hard work, that a little incompetent fool like you couldn't do!" Hermione was screaming on the top of her lungs. "And then Ron came along and ruined it. Why? WHY?" She sent one of her infamous melt-solid-steel glares at the increasingly stupid second year, who squeaked and cowered behind a chair. Then, Hermione lay her head down of the couch, frustrated. They were so ignorant, and didn't see that she liked working more than being in a big crowd. And she was tired. Why did they put her through this? Oh yea, they didn't care. Great.

Ron shook his head. _Hermione's really out of it. Gosh, talk about high strung. It's her fault that she's boring, so why should I bother. Is she…she's crying. Nooow's the perfect time for her to abuse the fact that she's a girl. What am I supposed to do? Shit, I made her cry. Great._

Harry tiptoed cautiously over. He saw a very confused Ron, looking terrified at a Hermione, mourning the loss of her homework. Harry turned around and saw a pale group of second years and the rest of the common room starting in silent, detached interest as Hermione blew her nose on Ron's shirt. Harry grinned.

"Hey, uhh, guys. Want to settle this?" Harry tried not to smile. "Compromise," he whispered feverently at Ron.

Ron looked very confused, but then his face lit up. 

"Uh, Mione?" he poked her. "Let's make a deal. You re-write your homework and be happy, and…uhhhh…"

Hermione lifted her face off of the pillow, beaming happily. 

"Let's see. We have two options here. You can either say 'Hermione is the greatest and smartest witch ever, and I am just a simpleton. I bow to your superior intellect.' Then, of course, you'd bow to my superior intellect. Or, you could play chess with me as double or nothing. Unless, you want me to start…*sob*…start crying agaaaain."

"NO WAY!" screeched Ron. "IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE OVERSENSITIVE!"

Hermione put her head back on her pillow, grinning maliciously in its depths of fluffiness. She faked earsplitting sobs. _It is so much fun exploiting feminism. Ha!_

"Fine," Ron mumbled. Then he said something under his breath, which sounded like "Mucking fitch".

Harry starting laughing. "You…idiots!" he choked, clutching his sides. All of a sudden, he collapsed on the floor, feet in the air.

"Harry?" said Hermione. "You okay?"

There wasn't an answer. There was only the sound of Hermione and Ron gasping simultaneously. Crickets chirped too…if there are crickets in England…

Ron ran over to Harry. "YOU OKAY?" he screamed in Harry's ear.

There wasn't an answer. There was only the sound of Hermione standing up and knocking over her books, and those damn crickets chirping. If there are crickets in England.

"Get Madame Pomfrey!" screeched Hermione. "He's out cold!"

*******

"Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn!" sang Michelle, at the look of terror on Kevin's face.

A short, stocky man with a black beard walked over to Nicole, Sean, Kevin, and Michelle. He was, of course, the manager of Starbucks, and at the moment he was the Extremely Pissed Off Manager of Starbucks. Four stinkin' kids had just erratically bust through the side window of his store…scaring customers away and more importantly getting glass shards in his mocha. 

"Crap…" Kevin whispered.

"Yes, that'd be what you're wading in. ALONG WITH MY WINDOW!" screamed Mr. Manager. Then, he said, "A long line of profane words."

"Huh?" said Sean. "Did you just say a long line of profane words?"

"Duh squared!" exclaimed Michelle. "You do have ears, ya know!" She smacked her gum irritably.

"Uh," began Nicole. "What do you mean, Mr. Manager Man?"

"The name's Bernie. Oh, it's an order from my shrink. He said that I should censor my actions, and to fill in nonsense with my suppressed anger; instead of things that would hurt other people's feeling I'm supposed to say something that doesn't make comprehensible sense. It's part of my parole sentence."

Nicole stared at him, pulling a piece of her hair behind her ears. Kevin was sitting in the corner, pale, looking from his truck, to his friends, to the glass on the floor, to the manager, who continued his speech.

"I'm trying cut back on curse words. My shrink to me to imagine telling you 'a long line of profane words', in this case to which you would reply, 'I do study, I do know how to drive, and I didn't know you could do that with a book.'" Mr. Manager aka Bernie looked unfazed.

"WHICH book?" said Nicole, checking her bag to make sure that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was still intact. It was, in fact, warm and sitting comfortably next to her graphing calculator in her mondo backpack. 

"Doesn't matter," moped Kevin. 

Nicole dove into another of her Harry Potter rants.

"I cherish this book! It's my Bible, my other world. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione are so damn funny and cute! I love them to itty, bitty pieces. I mean, listen to this…" 

She opened her book to page 177. "'Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song.'" Nicole continued reading.

" _A thousand years or more ago_

When I was newly sewn,

There lived four wizards of renown,

Whose names are still well known:

Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,

Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,

Sweet Hufflefuff, from valley broad, 

Shrewd Slytherin, from fen.

They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,

They hatched a daring plan

To educate young sorcerers

Thus Hogwarts School began.

Now each of those four founders

Formed their own house, for each

Did value different virtues

In the ones they had to teach.

By Gryffindor, the bravest were

Prized far beyond the rest;

For Ravenclaw, the cleverest

Would always be the best;

For Hufflepuff, the hard workers were

Most worthy of admission;

And power-hungry Slytherin

Loved those of great ambition

While still alive they did divide

Their favorites from the throng,

Yet how to pick the worthy ones,

When they were dead and gone?

'Twas Gryffindor who found the way

He whipped me off his head

The founders put some brains in me

So I could choose instead!

Now slip me snug about your ears

I've never yet been wrong

I'll have a look inside your mind."

And tell where you belong."

Sean stared. "Sounds creepy…having a talking hat know all about you. Star Wars meets Sherlock Holmes."

"It is NOT creepy! It's adorable!" screamed Nicole, as she punched Sean on the shoulder. "You're just scared that the hat'd put you in Slytherin, along with all the other slimy, evil…"

"No cursing in my store!" screamed Bernie. "Continue," he added at their shocked looks.

"I am not slimy," said Sean.

"Are too!" screamed Nicole, reddening.

"Am not!" replied Sean.

"Hey dorkuses," interrupted Michelle, throwing her gum away. "Stop it!"

"Shut it," growled Sean. "This is our argument, Princess."

Michelle glared, tugging on her short skirt. "Fine, be that way."

"Hey Sean, how about we make another bet. I'm in a loose nothing bet mood. Let's say that if you get Sorted, you'll go into Slytherin. You'd owe me big. If you get Sorted somewhere else, I owe you big. Deal?"

"Uh, yea. Sure." 

Sean and Nicole shook hands.

"WHAT ABOUT MY WINDOW?" screamed Bernie. 

"What about it? You mean that wasn't a drive-through?" snapped Sean, dripping with sarcasm that was gathering in a puddle around his feet. "You expect me to make Kev park just so we can get some coffee?"

Bernie's face lit up. "Geniuses! Prodigies! Drive through! Come, come have a latte with me! Leave the car, let's celebrate!"

Nicole, Sean, Kevin, and Michelle looked at each other, shrugged, and walked over to the service counter.

*******

****

End Note: Pweese review? I like comments. ^_^ Just scroll down to the little box below…


	3. Blueberries

Author: Becca the Evil ****

Author: Becca the Evil

****

Title: Serendipity: 

****

Summary: Part three. The…switch. Muwhaha!

****

Dedication: 

I would like to dedicate anything I have written in these past few months to Ebony, a.k.a. AngieJ, because she's cool, an amazing writer, and tremendously fun to talk to. 

And plus, she dedicated Ch.9 of Trouble in Paradise to Minizzer, Destiny and the Sade addict in myself. Not to mention "Ode to Beta Readers". She made me warm and fuzzy for weeks. ^_^ Thanks, Eb! Schnoogles! 

I would also like to dedicate this to my beta readers. Saskia and Kaccee are dreams. I heart you all!

****

Disclaimer: A lot of the Cedric depression was inspired by "Drinking Tears" by D.M.P. I have her permission to use a few lines, etc.

I don't own Joanne Rowling's characters, and most other things. Anything you recognize isn't mine.

Ron's nose was pressed against the cold glass in the Hospital Wing. You know…the type of glass outside of hospital rooms with that annoying cross-hatching. There's really no point in those metal wires; they prevent you from seeing your friends or family through the window, and they itch your nose like hell.

But, Ron had one heck of a durable nose. His nose had been through fifteen years of being scrubbed mercilessly. His nose had been through several thousand well placed snowballs, punches and annoying pimples. 

It had been magicked away by Gred and Forge on one memorable day when he was seven, and had been painted green by Charlie during his brief Herbology obsession. Bill had pierced Ron's nose while he was sleeping, and even Percy had gotten in on the fun. Ron still hadn't gotten the M&Ms out of his right nostril. Most recently, his nose had been flicked by Hermione's iron nails from hell for suggesting that she was the reason that Harry had passed out on the common room floor. 

That was one tough nose.

The crickets that were chirping back in the common room had stopped indefinitely, since I honestly don't know if there are really crickets in England. The only sounds in the waiting room of the Hospital Wing were the tapping of Hermione's impatient foot, Ron's nose sliding down the window, and the rapid turns of Arithmancy: Level 5's pages. Hermione was nearly mutilating the book out of stress and anxiety. 

All of a sudden, Madame Pomfrey opened the door. It smashed Ron forcibly into the glass window he was already leaning against. His nose squished.

Thankfully, Ron wasn't a muggle. If he was, well, his nose would probably have has twice as much plastic surgery as Kathy Lee Gifford and Pamela Anderson combined. Madame Pomfrey fixed up Ron's nose in way less time than it would have taken with the most renowned plastic surgeon. Neither scalpel nor burning hot silicon was involved. Hermione collected herself in this two-minute break, and was the first to say anything productive. As usual.

"What happened to Harry? Is he all right?" she asked, feigning ease. "Can we go in and visit him get? It looked like an involuntary spasm, a muggle ailment easily reversed by magic…"

"Hush, child," cooed Madame Pomfrey. "He's just waken up, lucky for you. If you promise to be absolutely quiet, you can come inside."

Hermione and Ron nodded feverently. 

Once they were inside the Wing, Hermione whispered audibly, "What happened to him? It couldn't have been a spasm, this seems too serious…"

Madame Pomfrey's faced flashed a peculiar emotion that both Ron and Hermione couldn't place. She seemed thoroughly agitated. "He's just woken up, children." She snapped, smiling nervously. 

The nurse led them to Harry, who was tying his shoes. Madame Pomfrey left, leaving the three alone. Harry looked like he always had…messy black hair, round green eyes blinking beneath black glasses, florescent green scar…

__

Wait! thought both Hermione and Ron, _Isn't Harry's scar normal?_

Ron felt his ire raise. _That little twirp, _Ron thought, _He gets all the attention! He faints, and his famous scar turns a famous shade of green on his famous, pale forehead, _Ron inwardly spat. _The Famous Ickle Harry Potter never had to grow up with five older brothers and a little sister, and Harry Potter never got lost in the crowd. Harry Potter stands out, Harry Potter is special, and I'm just his lousy, average sidekick. I want a green scar too! _

What came out of Ron's mouth was very different.

"Uh, Harry. Why is your scar glowing?"

Harry gave Ron a sideways look, and touched his forehead testily. He bent his fingers down to eye level, and gawked at green glowing dust. He stared at his fingers as if they were about to jump off of his hand and tap dance across the school campus wearing pink finger-tutus.

Then, quickly as the look came, it was replaced with one of forced passiveness. It was like a mask. Harry too seemed to know something that he wasn't letting on. Harry flashed a carbon copy of Madame Pomfrey's nervous smile, only he was considerable less wrinkly and effeminate. It was that same, annoying, I-Know-Something-You-Don't-Know, Neener-Neener-Nyah-Nyah look.

Hermione gasped, and pointed at Harry. His scar was changing colors again. It flashed through the rainbow, Ron and Hermione staring dumbfounded.

Green, purple, green, blue, pink, red, orange, fuschia, green, yellow, purple, red, pink, blue, orange, yellow, green…

"Holy cows…" Ron stared, dumbfounded. "What's happening?"

"Nothing…nothing," said Harry, looking dazed.

At the word 'nothing', Hermione's inner wheels started churning.

_Nothing? Nothing?? What does he think he's playing at! Harry Potter, Dark Arts Target extraordinaire passed out in the common room, and now he's florescent. That is not a nothing situation! His scar is a bloody purple! _Hermione cried, inwardly. _NOTHING? There is no such thing as nothing! There is always something to have, and nothing doesn't exist. There is always a molecule or two that spoil the whole nothing concept, and nothing is not a valid answer. I spite the word nothing! Nothing is no thing! Harry Potter, this is not NOTHING!_

Hermione grabbed Harry by the collar, and dragged him out of the hospital wing. Ron followed, moping. 

__

Harry gets all the attention, he moped.

Once they were out in the hallways, Hermione turned to Harry. 

__

I've seen through his stupid mask, she spat, _and I want to know what was happening. Now. There is no way that this is nothing._

"Harold James Potter!" she shrieked. "Tell me what you know, I have had it with you. Don't try and hide things from me!"

Harry gasped in mock fear. 

"Oooh, Harry, she used your full name!" Ron played along, putting his hands in the air, signaling surrender.

Hermione tightened her grip on her almost forgotten Arithmancy book.

"Hermione…put the book…down." Harry said this with the air of one talking to a man strapped to a bomb. He held his hands in front of him, smiling while his nervous façade disappeared.

_Wheeew! _He thought

Hermione's face was now a lovely shade of fuschia, and she was shaking with rage. "Tell me right now, you idiot! And, Ron, you too, stop being a jerk or…"

"Or what," Ron tried.

"OR THIS!" she screeched as she violently pushed Ron and Harry into the nearest room, which happened to be Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She cornered them, screaming obscenties.

**********

The dark was more obscure than black. Light had fled, forced out hours ago, leaving him sitting above the damp unknown.

It was better this way.

This place was his new home. In the damp air, there was a soursweet scent that was both filthy and clean. He could feel cold tingling his skin, and he could hear the soft sounds of whispers. This was his place to keep.

There were plenty of minds to scramble. He could sense them, moving about, laughing. Oh…imagination. It was plentiful, and was his morning coffee and afternoon tea. Playing with imagination was his sport.

He excelled at it.

A mind was coming, he sensed it. It paused, frustrated, and then rushed into his home. Oh, this mind was fully loaded and ready for a new adventure. He smiled, and stepped out into the light, yellow eyes flickering. He held out a thin, dark arm, and grabbed the mind with unearthly strength that shouldn't have come from such a small creature. He lifted the mind up, up, up, up…up into the unknown.

His work was done. Almost. He walked over to the sink, and took a bite of a blueberry. Yes, this was a special adventure for this mind, and he wanted to witness all of it.

*********

Sean picked up his tray of food, and walked carefully over to the table where Nicole, Michelle, and Kevin were sitting. A piece of chocolate cake teetered dangerously as he dropped the tray onto the table. It landed with a loud thunk.

"Hungry?" asked Nicole, as Sean dived headfirst into his pastry and gobbled.

"Mmmhmmmm," he replied, mouth full and syrup dripping from his face.

"Gosh, is there anything you don't eat?" groaned a disgusted Michelle, delicately sipping on a berry smoothie.

"Pliers, " replied Kevin, nonchalantly.

"Washing machines," added Nicole. "Spare tires."

"And that's about it." Kevin took another bite of his croissant. Then, he smothered a piece of chocolate into its crusty depths and chomped.

"Ah." Michelle sighed. 

"It was really nice for Bernie to give us all this free food," said Nicole, chewing. "Seeing a Kev ruined his car, leaving us stranded while it rains, the window is ruined and water is leaking in…and that Starving Boy over there gave him new hopes for drive through caffeine rushes."

"And…it's thanks to your monster sarcasm rally, Nicky, that made Sean get defensive," Michelle grinned. "What *is* it with you and those Harry Potter books? Betting Sean wouldn't get into Gridenfore, sheesh." She punctuated this was a playful "L" on her forehead.

"Yea, Nicky," added Kevin. "Your little song took up a whole mega-frikken page of our lives."

"Mmmhmmph," mumbled Sean, mouth full of cakes. "Youthmm obsethed." He spewed crumbs all over Nicole's face. Her mouth formed a tight "o" of indignant shock.

Nicole stood up quickly, glaring at her friends. "You don't get it. You just don't GET it, do you? It's not some stupid book! It's real, and in that world, I have friends who care and understand. You know what, I don't need you and your stupid doubt and pity!" she screamed on the top of her lungs, getting stares from everyone who hadn't evacuated the coffee shop. Then, Nicole stomped off.

"Psycho," whispered Sean, crumbs spraying everywhere.

******

The sun was filtering through the thick trees, a bit of warmth on her shoulders. She was cold, almost drowning in apprehension and anxiety mixed with distinct loathing. How could she have been so stupid? It was just a simple, simple spell, and she had practiced so hard on getting results! Not hard enough, though. He had still gotten away. That boy…he had caused her so much pain, so much torture. He would pay, and she knew it. He would pay dearly for taking so much away from her.

Seven loud bursts shot through the air, as the seven people she was meeting with materialized. They all stood, huddled in the shadows, eyes gleaming. The one person she dreaded and loved at the same time, if he was decidedly a person, was the first to speak.

"Have you completed your task?" asked an ethereal voice. She shrunk into her robes.

"The…the spell was…was conducted. Sir," she stuttered, disappointed with herself.

"And what were the results?" the voice demanded.

"He…" she choked. "He got away, sir."

The man's eyes narrowed into red slits. Two identical spots of ire appeared on his temples as he grabbed the girl by the front of her robes and held her high in the air. She quaked in horror. 

"I gave you every opportunity to get him. That boy, that stupid little boy. There's nothing to protect him anymore. His mother's love that ran through his blood and that murdered me, is mine. His luck is mine. And now, the woman he loves is mine…

"Did I not show you what he has done? The selfish little coward, he decieved everyone. He claimed he was working for Good, and that Evil was trying to murder everyone. How wrong he was."

The man set the girl down, and sat next to her on a dry log. His anger faded, and he coaxed the wimpering girl.

"There is no Good, and there is no Bad. There is only Power and those too Weak to seek it. I showed you Power. Power fills you with a long lasting joy that Weakness cannot. When one is Weak, they are empty, full of grief and frustration, unable to compose oneself. Power lifts you, so that you can fly inside and outside. Eternally. 

"Love is a marketing tool. Yes, I have loved, as have you. But love is like a ladder. You climb and climb, feeling Powerful and energetic, until you reach the top step. At the top, you think you are flying above the world, and you think that you are the happiest person alive. But all ladders fall.

"When you fall off of the ladder of love, there is nothing to break your fall but the cold hard floor of reality. That rush, that soaring and Powerful feeling is gone, and you are left alone; Weak. The only way to achieve real happiness is through Power, stable Power. Ladders of fickle love are not stable.

"The people you think you love use you. They use your Power, the miniscule Power taken from love. The type of Power that bites back and leaves your heart aching. The mold it until you think you're safe, and then they leave you.

"What was so wrong about wanting Power? Why am I considered evil for it? What is so wrong with wanted to help to world, to save people from pain? I saved you from pain, I helped you when nobody else could. I am not evil.

"Tell me again, child, about the night of the Triwizard Tournament."

The girl, sitting mesmerized on the log, cleared her throat.

"I," she croaked. "I waited in the stands, it seemed like forever. I watched the champions walk into the maze, anxiously. The first time I saw red sparks, I was frantic with worry. My whole heart was wondering about Cedric, who was the only one who understood me. He was the one with whom I danced with during a summer thunderstorm, just barely a month ago. He was sincere, he was honest, he appreciated the beauty of nature. 

"I wondered if he would make it out alive."

She choked, and wiped her eyes.

"The sparks weren't Cedric's. My heart rested. My ladder stabilized. I waited for the outcome for what seemed like forever, and once I knew what had happened, I wished I could have waited longer. And longer. At least then I wouldn't have to face it. 

"But I did. I saw Cedric's body, borne on Potter's small one. His limp figure, defeated. It was the worst kind of defeat, for it was not merely a loss of the Triwizard Cup. It was a loss of his life. And then, I lost control, and fell off of my ladder.

"Cedric was dead, and all that was left was my heart, full of despair. That's what came with love, huh? Grief and sadness! Where was happiness? Where were the days were I felt myself floating above the ground, smiling? Gone, all gone with Cedric! He was my happiness, and my joy.

"I needed someone to blame for the pain. I needed to know who had caused my grief, and who had killed Cedric."

The etheral man shushed the girl, and spoke. "That's when you met me. I know who's to blame. I was there. 

"As the world knows it, I killed Harry Potter's parents. That is a blatant lie, from people who want to destroy me. I wanted to save the world, I wanted to help make the world a better place. I only killed out of defense. Harry Potter has been trying to kill all of his life. He has a heart that wants vengance, and he has a heart that wants my blood shed on the ground.

"That night, I made the Triwizard Cup a portkey. I knew that Potter was cheating and prying clues from people to win the Cup, and I knew that he would viciously destroy anyone in his path. I knew he would use trickery to win the Cup. He had teachers help him. He bribed Cedric into giving him a clue. Potter planned on making himself seem like an unlikely hero. I knew he lied, and I knew he would get the Cup. I needed Potter for one reason, to undo the evil task he did to me. He stripped me of a body, and all I needed was a few drops of his blood. 

"Potter had another trick up his sleeve. He brought Cedric along with him to the Portkey, so that Potter could whine to his worshippers that I had tortured them both, and also to have a witness. Cedric was appalled by how Potter spited me, he was appalled by how Potter spited everyone but himself. Potter gave me some of his blood, and then challenged me to a duel to take it back. 

"Cedric was not killed by a curse from that duel. Cedric watched as Potter and my wands combined, another trick of Potter's. Then, as Potter tried to snap my wand, Cedric cried out. Cedric was a brave young man, an honest young man. Potter thought Cedric was defying him as a witness and defying him by threatening to tell Dumbledore about how Potter lied to win. Then, Potter killed Cedric, mercilessly. Potter brought back the body to be thought of as a hero. He is nobody's hero. He is nothing."

"You can avenge Cedric. You can bring me Harry Potter."

The man patted the girl on the back, and stood her up. Her short black hair fell out from under her hood. She nodded, wiping away tears.

"I will get him back. I will punish him for what he did. Thank you, Master." 

*****

Far away from the forest where eight people met, Nicole stormed angrily down a corridor, heading to the back of Starbucks. 

_I can't believe it. They don't understand, _she thought, clutching her package of blueberries and her Harry Potter book. _No one understands me. I wish I could go live with Harry Potter. _

Nicole felt a strange click in her mind, like a puzzle sliding into place. She shrugged, unable to place the strange sensation. 

She paused, reaching a dead end. The kitchens were ahead of her, and her so-called "friends" behind. She saw two doors next to her, the restrooms. 

__

I have to get away from my "friends" she thought, bitterly. _I'm not going back there to "talk"._

She peered cautiously into the woman's bathroom. 

Nicole was immediately hit with the sensation that she had fallen into a sewer that was the graveyard of thousands of flea infested rats. Yellow and green goo was dripping from the walls, and it reeked of decay. 

She shut the door and peered into the men's rooms. For once in her lifetime, she realized that men were a bit cleaner than women. At least there wasn't that putrid smell of death in the men's room. 

She made a move to walk inside, but stopped. Kevin and Sean could find her in here. And if she went into the smelly, disease infested women's rooms, Michelle wouldn't dare go inside.

Out of nowhere, she was reminded of a poem.

__

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
And sorry I could not travel both  
And be one traveler, long I stood  
And looked down one as far as I could  
To where it bent in the undergrowth...

Then took the other, as just as fair,  
And having perhaps the better claim,  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;  
Though as for that the passing there  
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay  
In leaves no step had trodden black.  
Oh, I kept the first for another day!  
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,  
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:  
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--  
I took the one less traveled by,  
And that has made all the difference. 

This poem, oh, this poem was an epic. It reminded her of something that Kevin had told her last week. He had said, "I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday." But, then again, those words of wisdom were followed by "I know I shouldn't have eaten that bean chilli, gotta go!" Typical guy. 

Nicole took the road less taken, and that made all the difference.

***


End file.
